Soul Ring Age Limit

"Stop!" Baishuang shouted, stopping Youquan just as she was about to absorb the Soul Ring.

"What's wrong?" Youquan stopped, looking at the unusually agitated Baishuang in surprise.

Baishuang walked over and took a moment to compose herself before saying strangely, "You really don't know anything about this, do you?"

Youquan scratched her head awkwardly, wearing an eager-to-learn expression.

"You can absorb a Soul Ring at your age—do you have Innate Full Soul Power?" Baishuang looked envious. When Youquan nodded, she continued, "There are age limits for absorbing Soul Rings. Its name is Great Strength Brute Ox. It's a rare Soul Beast on this Back Mountain, and it's incredibly strong. Since the villagers don't have Soul Power, they usually avoid it if they encounter one. I never expected you to kill it so easily."

Seeing that Youquan offered no explanation, Baishuang did not press the matter. Everyone had their secrets, didn't they? She continued explaining, "This Wild Bull is only around ten years old. Since you have Innate Full Soul Power and such talent, it would be best for you to absorb a hundred-year Soul Ring."

"What's the difference?"

"I heard that the age of a Soul Ring affects the strength of the soul skill it produces, the boost it gives to Soul Power, and even a person's future potential. White Soul Rings are ten-year rings, yellow ones are hundred-year rings, and purple ones are thousand-year rings. I don't know about the rest. After all, I never had the chance to study at an academy. I only heard this from the adults at Spirit Hall."

"I see. Good thing you stopped me in time. Thank you," Youquan said gratefully.

"You're welcome. I don't know how to tell a Soul Beast's age apart, but you can judge by the color of its Soul Ring. The deeper the color, the older it is," Baishuang continued.

"I see. I'll remember that." Youquan handed the nest of rabbits she had caught to Baishuang. "Take these. I'll drag this Wild Bull back. We'll have a better meal tonight. See if you can trade some of this meat for more rice and flour."

"Alright. Sister Youquan, you're amazing!" Baishuang's eyes curved into crescents as she smiled happily, finally showing a little of a child's adorable nature.

The two found Zhuang Yanyan nearby, struggling with a medicinal herb. The three sisters then headed home together.

After returning home, Youquan butchered the Wild Bull, keeping the edible parts and disposing of the rest. Baishuang salted and stored some of the meat, while packing the rest to trade for grain. Zhuang Yanyan voluntarily made a nest for the rabbits, planning to raise them so they would never lack meat in the future.

"Haha, Yanyan, you little dirty-faced cat." Seeing a smudge on Zhuang Yanyan's face, Youquan dipped her hand in water and reached over to wipe it away.

For a moment, Zhuang Yanyan did not react. But when she came to her senses, she immediately screamed, covered her face with both hands, and ran behind the door to hide, trembling.

Baishuang immediately rushed over, gathered Zhuang Yanyan into her arms, and comforted her softly.

"I'm sorry. I only wanted to help Yanyan clean her face," Youquan said guiltily, seeing how strongly Zhuang Yanyan had reacted.

"It's fine. You didn't mean to." Seeing no other expression on Youquan's face, Baishuang said nothing more. She merely took a small bottle from her clothes and applied its contents to Zhuang Yanyan's face.

"Yanyan's face..." Youquan asked cautiously.

"Ah, it was the result of a failed martial soul awakening." Baishuang sighed and explained, "Yanyan's martial soul is the Water Cloud Butterfly, a very beautiful kind of butterfly. But her martial soul awakening failed, leaving her unable to dismiss the martial soul's effects. Not only can she not cultivate, but these Water Cloud Butterfly markings on her body won't disappear either. I was afraid people would treat her as an outcast, so I could only find ways to use medicinal herbs to cover the markings."

"But... aren't they beautiful?" Youquan said softly to Zhuang Yanyan.

Hearing Youquan's words, Zhuang Yanyan raised her head. Her little hands still covered her face, and her eyes brimmed with tears.

Youquan's heart softened. She drew Zhuang Yanyan into her arms. "Yanyan, the markings on your body are super cool. Do you know that many people go through very painful methods just to get markings that pretty? But you were born with such beautiful markings. And you're already so pretty—together with those markings, you look even more mysterious and beautiful."

"Really? Sister Youquan, Yanyan isn't a monster?" Zhuang Yanyan asked pitifully.

"Of course not! Yanyan is the cutest little treasure. There's an elder in Sister Youquan's family who has green scales on her body. She's unbelievably cool. Her name is Qinglin, and Aunt Qinglin is incredibly powerful. Our Yanyan should learn from Aunt Qinglin too, alright?"

Youquan thought of Qinglin, the product of the Snake-people Race and humans. Because of the green scales on her body, Qinglin had once been isolated and ostracized. But when Qinglin became one of the continent's top experts, no one called her a monster for having green scales anymore. They only said those green scales added even more charm to her.

"But Yanyan's martial soul awakening failed. I can't cultivate," Zhuang Yanyan said sadly.

"Even if you can't cultivate, Yanyan can still shine brightly in other fields. We're still young, and the future holds endless possibilities. Sister Youquan is hungry. Shall we go help Sister Shuang cook?"

Zhuang Yanyan wiped away her tears, nodded, got to her feet, and ran toward the kitchen.

Baishuang looked gently in Zhuang Yanyan's direction. "Do you think Yanyan is a little childish?"

"Yanyan is still little. She's only six."

Baishuang shook her head and explained to Youquan, "Yanyan used to be very sensible. But after her martial soul awakening failed, she was excluded, targeted, and insulted because of the markings on her body. Those experiences tormented her until she fell seriously ill. Fortunately, the adults at Spirit Hall gave us subsidies, and Yanyan survived. But after she recovered, her mind remained at the age of three or four. Yet the shadow cast by those markings still follows her. Still, even though her mind is only three or four years old, Yanyan remains an exceptionally sensible and good child."

"I see. Can she recover in the future?"

"I don't know." Baishuang shook her head helplessly.

"She'll get better someday." Youquan silently made up her mind. She had to find a way to help the two sisters, improve their lives, help Yanyan recover, and let her show off her beautiful markings openly and proudly.

"I hope so." Baishuang sighed.

Youquan looked at her right hand. I can't delay any longer. There's still so much to do, and time is precious. I need to obtain my first Soul Ring soon and become a Spirit Master. I also need to find out where the Heavenly Flames are. Otherwise, my martial soul will be nothing but a useless one. If I can't even summon flames, how can I become an Alchemist? Without alchemy, how can I help Sister Shuang and the others?

Youquan looked toward where Baishuang and the others were. It was time to leave for a while.